Rocket eBook

File Format
Name	Rocket eBook
Ontology	Electronic File Formats Electronic Publishing formats Rocket eBook
Extension(s)	.rb
MIME Type(s)	application/x-rocketebook
PRONOM	fmt/485
Wikidata ID	Q105860142

Rocket eBook format was used by one of the first physical ebook readers, the Rocket eBook from NuvoMedia (and later REB 1100 from RCA/Gemstar and GEB1150).

It is a container format for simplified html, images and a pseudo-OPF (.info) file with all of the metadata.

It supports optional DRM and was sold by Gemstar, Barnes & Noble, Powells.com, and eBookwise.

.RB files are also used to update the firmware and system fonts of the device.

Identification

• Ebook .rb files: Hex "B0 0C B0 0C" ('bookbook') appears at offset 0.
• System .rb files: Hex "B0 0C C0 DE" ('bookcode') or "B0 0C F0 0D" ('bookfood') appears at offset 0.

References and format

• https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/RB
• http://www.chromakinetics.com/REB1200/REB1100.htm
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_eBook
• Rocket eBook FAQ
• Russian Rocket eBook forum
• format documentation

Sample files

• rbmake documentation
• John Ringo - A Hymn Before Battle
• Dictionaries

Online utilities

• CloudConvert
• Convertio
• FreeFileConvert
• Zamzar Rb Converter

Software

• Book Designer - create .rb files (also includes RbDisintegrator to extract files from .rb)
• Calibre - read, convert to, and convert from .rb
• rbmake
  • rbmake - a book-maker for .rb files
  • rbburst - extract a .rb back into its component files
  • rbinfo - summarize a .rb file
  • rbdump - a debug dump for a .rb file (if you need to debug the .hidx files that rbmake produced)
• eRocket - Rocket eBook simulator/reader for Windows
  • eRocket++ - patches eRocket memory from 4MB to 48MB
  • erRussify - patches eRocket to let Russian books be read and enable hidden 'Configuration' menu that can change memory size (more info)
• RocketLibrarian 1.3.222 - converts html and txt to .rb
• eBook Librarian 2.0.244 (patch sometimes needed for an unregistered Rocket eBook) (additional info)
• GEB eBook Librarian - create and view .rb (also rebranded as eBookwise Librarian) (additional info)
• PDFRead - convert PDF, DjVu, and TIFF to .rb
• RocketPublisher (download) - create and extract .rb
• RBextract/RB Extract - extract component files of a .rb
• RB2Project - convert a .rb to either HTML markup for import into eBook Publisher or directly to a .imp file
• RB-Info - info on .rb file (GUI, not to be confused with command-line rbinfo that is part of rbmake)
• Filestar* - convert to and from .rb
• Konvertor - convert to and from .rb
• Merlin (download) - RocketLibrarian replacement / Rocket SDK in Java for Windows/Unix
• Haruspice - browse dictionaries in .rb format
• rebhack - documentation on encrypted .rb format plus possibly help decrypt such files

System .rb Files

• Info on System .rb files
• rbfPacker - Collects fonts into a special rb file that replaces Rocket ebook system fonts (more info)
• Russian Times New Roman for Rocket eBook - Sample system .rb
• Russian Times New Roman for REB1100 - Sample system .rb
• Firmware 2.0.305.3r - Sample system .rb